"[His improvement] is down to the challenge he's taken on. The size of a club demands a certain size of performance and we're a sell-out club, with 35,000 people, great tradition. He's responded.

"We changed his role. The ability he has to break through the opposition's midfield is rare. Other players have to pass their way through.

"He has similar capabilities to Yaya Toure though, unbelievably, Manchester City don't seem to be using those capabilities at the moment.

"That's why West Ham fans love him, those long, penetrating, weavey runs. He gets into the positions so often that if we can work on the finishing and final pass we could be talking about a really top player."